I finally finished the Traulsen Refrigerator build and have been doing the burn in as well as dry runs to test the smoker. I've been doing the work in a empty garage next door.
With the burn in there was a little smoke, and some chemical smells, but it all seemed to clear up. I didn't take the heat very high because I have FOAM INSULATION that is supposedly rated for 210* (per Traulsen)
Today I started it up and set it at 250 for more burn in and to check performance. After a couple hours I started experimenting with the smoke element to see how that affected temp. I walked away for a half hour and when I returned the temp was up to 275. Garage was smokey. And strong chemical odor. The magnetic door seals were falling apart. And definite off gassing.
I should mention I was working upstairs above the garage on a remodel, and a furnace is in the garage so possibly spreading some of the fumes. I opened the garage door, and doors upstairs to air it out. Dropped the temp of the smoker, and kept working.
Symptoms:
Started feeling woozy, little fuzzy headed but thought I was just being sensitive so ignored it. A while later it was worse, to the point of dizziness. Definitely feeling some effects, so I left. At this point I still feel impaired.
The dissapointing part is I no longer feel safe having this insulation in the smoker, so everything is going to have to be disassembled and insulation torn out.
The insulation is the structure of this fridge, it holds the otherwise free floating interior apart from the exterior. It holds the interior door panels on. Etc. So in removing it I will have to build a structure to hold everything together. Re- design my doors. Ugh.
For future use, it's not worth it.
With the burn in there was a little smoke, and some chemical smells, but it all seemed to clear up. I didn't take the heat very high because I have FOAM INSULATION that is supposedly rated for 210* (per Traulsen)
Today I started it up and set it at 250 for more burn in and to check performance. After a couple hours I started experimenting with the smoke element to see how that affected temp. I walked away for a half hour and when I returned the temp was up to 275. Garage was smokey. And strong chemical odor. The magnetic door seals were falling apart. And definite off gassing.
I should mention I was working upstairs above the garage on a remodel, and a furnace is in the garage so possibly spreading some of the fumes. I opened the garage door, and doors upstairs to air it out. Dropped the temp of the smoker, and kept working.
Symptoms:
Started feeling woozy, little fuzzy headed but thought I was just being sensitive so ignored it. A while later it was worse, to the point of dizziness. Definitely feeling some effects, so I left. At this point I still feel impaired.
The dissapointing part is I no longer feel safe having this insulation in the smoker, so everything is going to have to be disassembled and insulation torn out.
The insulation is the structure of this fridge, it holds the otherwise free floating interior apart from the exterior. It holds the interior door panels on. Etc. So in removing it I will have to build a structure to hold everything together. Re- design my doors. Ugh.
For future use, it's not worth it.
